Siding repair in Georgetown, SC

GEORGETOWN — A popular Georgetown fast-food restaurant has closed, and it's unclear if it will reopen.

The Hardee's on Church Street recently shut down, according to signs hanging on the restaurant.

"Thank you for being loyal guests and for allowing us to be part of this community," the signs read. "Unfortunately, this location has been closed and will remain closed until further notice."

Staff at the restaurant would not comment on the situation when the Georgetown Hardee's was still open on Dec. 20.

The restaurant was independently owned and operated by Arc Burger, a San Diego-based franchisee with 77 other locations across the country.

According to a lawsuit filed Nov. 21, Arc Burger began missing payments on its locations as early as December 2024, violating franchise and sublease agreements tied to 28 restaurant properties.

Hardee’s alleged the franchisee has racked up more than $6.5 million in unpaid fees, rental payments, royalties, advertising charges, training costs and other expenses, even after signing a $690,437 promissory note in mid-2024.

Hardee’s terminated Arc’s franchise rights in September but allowed it to keep operating the restaurants until they could be sold. The arrangement required Arc to stay current on payments, but it failed to do so, according to the lawsuit.

Hardee’s confirmed in a statement that the Georgetown restaurant closure is related to the lawsuit.

"This and other closures are the result of ARC Burger’s failure to cure its defaults under its franchise agreements, despite solid sales and our continued attempts over the course of many months to reach a resolution that would keep these restaurants open," the company stated.

Hardee’s added it will attempt to reopen closed locations as soon as possible.

Locations in Charleston and Beaufort have also closed in recent weeks.

GEORGETOWN, S.C. (WCSC) — New development plans in Georgetown County will soon have a new rule to follow before they break ground.

Georgetown leaders are drafting their first wetland ordinance as an article in the county’s zoning ordinances.

The idea is to protect both federally protected and unprotected waterways from future building plans. The first draft suggests that building plans must be at least 50 feet away from jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional wetlands in the county. This length breaks down to a 35-foot undisturbed buffer plus a 15-foot setback off that buffer.

The drafted distance was a result of the of ‘Waters of the United States’ under the Clean Water Act.

South Carolina Environmental Law Project Staff Attorney Monica Whalen says the change in the definition of wetlands narrows down the number of waterways to get federal protection. She says a potential rule by the Trump administration could further narrow down the list of federally protected waterways.

The change sparked the environmental law group to share a drafted wetlands protection ordinance model with governments across the state, including Georgetown County.

“When we don’t protect as many wetlands as possible, we’re losing the benefits they provide. Some of those include, like, habitat for wildlife or flood control. They also help with filtering out pollutants, so they help protect water quality.”

The idea comes from the county’s land use and natural resources elements of their comprehensive plan, which was approved in July 2024. The new ordinance works as a new article in the government’s zoning ordinances.

County planning and code enforcement officer Holly Richardson says there are exemptions to the new rule.

“If you’ve got a lot today that maybe you haven’t built your home on yet, or if you’re a builder and you’ve got a lot and you haven’t built on it, the ordinance as it’s written now does exempt those existing lots.”

Richardson says developments are on the horizon for the county. She says creating a clear rule for buildings coming in is more than necessary.

“This isn’t a way to stop development. It’s not a way to hinder it. It’s not a way to make it harder, but we want it to be better. We certainly want the people that come here and construct and build to respect our natural resources and buffer them and do what they can to keep what we love about Georgetown County.”

The county is holding a workshop with the planning commission to discuss the details of the ordinance on Thursday evening.

The next step is for the ordinance to go to the planning commission leaders early next year. The meeting will also serve as a public hearing to gather community comments.

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GEORGETOWN — Georgetown County Council supported a zoning change for a 185-home subdivision this week, and county leaders said the project could provide much-needed housing in a growing area that often prices out many potential buyers.

The council voted Nov. 18 to move forward with rezoning 113 acres on Highmarket Street. The change would allow for single-family homes on about 75 acres and almost triple the current allowable density, according to county records.

"We're just trying to find ways for the people who are still starting out and people who are still working to try to ease their living situation a little bit," County Council Chairman Clint Elliot said. "It’s a big concern."

The rezoning application states that the houses would be priced for residents seeking an entry-level option to home ownership.

The county has faced several roadblocks as leaders explore ways to create new housing opportunities amid rapid growth.

One challenge is the number of people moving to Georgetown from other areas, including retirees who bring enough money with them to quickly buy up homes, Elliot said.

He noted that the proposed subdivision could help provide housing for teachers, nurses, firefighters, police officers and other workers.

Councilman Raymond Newton said the demand for housing has increased as the county seeks to attract new industry.

Several manufacturing companies have already opened in the area, but Newton said the county hopes to bring in a larger industry that could help replace the jobs lost when the International Paper mill closed last year.

When deciding where to locate, companies often analyze whether an area has enough housing for their workers.

"We can't say that we have adequate housing to supply a big industry if they decided to come," Newton said.

At the moment, the average price of homes in the new subdivision is estimated to be $250,000, according to Robert Turner, the engineer behind the project.

Although some families still wouldn’t be able to afford that price, Newton said it’s about as low as homes can be priced for entry-level houses.

“The only way you could go cheaper than that on a development is to make them super small, and you know, that’s not good for families with young kids, of course,” he said.

During the Nov. 18 meeting, Councilwoman Stella Mercado asked Turner to take the county’s goals for workforce housing into consideration as plans for the subdivision move forward. He agreed to discuss the possibility with the county planning department.

The council still needs to give final approval to the rezoning at its next meeting on Dec. 9. The construction of a major subdivision would then require site plan approval from the planning commission.

Newton and Elliot said they don’t expect any major infrastructure challenges if the subdivision is developed, but a traffic study will need to be completed.

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - A school nurse in Georgetown County is out on bond after being accused of being drunk at work.

The Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office charged Pamela Mcdill, 66, with disorderly conduct Friday.

The principal of Waccamaw Middle School on Wildcat Way off Willbrook Boulevard told the school resource officer around 8:06 a.m. that an employee may have come to work drunk, according to an incident report from the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office.

The SRO met with the suspect, Mcdill, the Pawleys Island-area school’s nurse, the report said.

The SRO noted in the report that Mcdill’s eyes were bloodshot, that she was slurring her words and that a strong odor of alcohol was coming from Mcdill.

According to the report, Mcdill admitted to drinking alcohol the night before and driving to work that morning.

“During our interview, the offender became angry and belligerent stating that it was no one business what she does at home on her off time,” the SRO wrote. “The offender stated that she drinks several times a week.”

The arguing continued as Mcdill started to curse at the principal, saying she could not understand why she was being sent home and that she was fine to work, the report said.

The SRO arrested Mcdill for disorderly conduct “because of the offender’s current condition, offensive language and location of the incident,” the report reads.

The Georgetown County School District said it placed Mcdill on administrative leave pending the outcome of the district’s investigation.

Jail records show Mcdill was released from the Georgetown County Detention Center Friday afternoon.

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